EP2153199B1 - System and method for focusing particles - Google Patents

System and method for focusing particles Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2153199B1
EP2153199B1 EP08763530.6A EP08763530A EP2153199B1 EP 2153199 B1 EP2153199 B1 EP 2153199B1 EP 08763530 A EP08763530 A EP 08763530A EP 2153199 B1 EP2153199 B1 EP 2153199B1
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EP
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Prior art keywords
particles
channel
focusing
optionally
suspension
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German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
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EP2153199A2 (en
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Alexander Leshansky
Avishay Bransky
Korin Natanel
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Technion Research and Development Foundation Ltd
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Technion Research and Development Foundation Ltd
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N15/00—Investigating characteristics of particles; Investigating permeability, pore-volume or surface-area of porous materials
    • G01N15/10—Investigating individual particles
    • G01N15/14—Optical investigation techniques, e.g. flow cytometry
    • G01N15/1404—Handling flow, e.g. hydrodynamic focusing
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
    • G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
    • G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
    • G01N33/53—Immunoassay; Biospecific binding assay; Materials therefor
    • G01N33/5306—Improving reaction conditions, e.g. reduction of non-specific binding, promotion of specific binding
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L3/00—Containers or dishes for laboratory use, e.g. laboratory glassware; Droppers
    • B01L3/50—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes
    • B01L3/502—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures
    • B01L3/5027—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures by integrated microfluidic structures, i.e. dimensions of channels and chambers are such that surface tension forces are important, e.g. lab-on-a-chip
    • B01L3/502769—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures by integrated microfluidic structures, i.e. dimensions of channels and chambers are such that surface tension forces are important, e.g. lab-on-a-chip characterised by multiphase flow arrangements
    • B01L3/502776—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures by integrated microfluidic structures, i.e. dimensions of channels and chambers are such that surface tension forces are important, e.g. lab-on-a-chip characterised by multiphase flow arrangements specially adapted for focusing or laminating flows
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N15/00—Investigating characteristics of particles; Investigating permeability, pore-volume or surface-area of porous materials
    • G01N15/10—Investigating individual particles
    • G01N15/14—Optical investigation techniques, e.g. flow cytometry
    • G01N15/1404—Handling flow, e.g. hydrodynamic focusing
    • G01N15/1409—Handling samples, e.g. injecting samples
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N2203/00—Investigating strength properties of solid materials by application of mechanical stress
    • G01N2203/0058—Kind of property studied
    • G01N2203/0092—Visco-elasticity, solidification, curing, cross-linking degree, vulcanisation or strength properties of semi-solid materials
    • G01N2203/0094—Visco-elasticity

Definitions

  • the present invention in some embodiments thereof, relates to flow cytometry, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to fluorescene-activated cell sorting (FACS).
  • FACS fluorescene-activated cell sorting
  • Flow cytometry is a technique for simultaneous multiparametric analysis of physical and/or chemical characteristics of single cells.
  • Flow cytometry allows for counting, examining, and sorting cells (or other microscopic particles) and provide multiparametric analysis of the physical and/or chemical characteristics of single particles.
  • the cells to be analyzed flow towards an inspection point, and this flowing is designed such that the particles arrive at the inspection point single file, so each particle is analyzed individually.
  • FACS Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting
  • the technology has applications in a number of fields, including molecular biology, pathology, immunology, plant biology and marine biology.
  • Flow cytometry and FACS also have broad application in medicine, especially in transplantation, hematology, tumor immunology and chemotherapy, genetics and sperm sorting in in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).
  • a beam of light is directed onto a stream of fluid, where the particles are aligned in the fluid one by one.
  • a number of detectors are aimed at the point where the stream passes through the light beam.
  • Each suspended particle passing through the beam interacts with the light in some way (for instance, scatters the light), and the light from the particle is picked up by the detectors.
  • the detected light is analyzed to provide various types of information about the physical and chemical structure of each individual particle.
  • a flow cytometer typically has 5 main components:
  • Aligning the particles in the flow cell is achieved by applying to the particles an external force.
  • One method of applying external force that is used in commercially available flow cytometers is termed in the art "sheath flow”.
  • Other methods include applying to the particles light and ultrasound.
  • the present invention in some embodiments thereof, relates to flow cytometry, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS).
  • FACS fluorescence-activated cell sorting
  • An aspect of some embodiments of the invention relates to aligning particles so they pass single file, for instance, through a light beam of a flow cytometer.
  • an aspect of some embodiments of the invention concerns a method of focusing particles according to claim 1.
  • the focus region is at half the height of the channel.
  • said focus region has a cross-section perpendicular to the length of the channel that has the same shape as the channel's cross-section at the same place, but smaller.
  • the focus region is coaxial with the channel.
  • said suspension comprises particles of various sizes; and said viscoelastic properties are such that flowing the suspension in the channel preferentially directs larger particles towards the focus region.
  • providing a suspension comprises:
  • providing a suspension comprises:
  • selecting comprises selecting responsive to the size of the particles.
  • providing a suspension comprises:
  • the method comprises flowing the suspension at a certain flow-rate; estimating focusing quality; and enlarging said flow rate so as to improve focusing quality.
  • enlarging the viscoelastic properties of said trial suspending medium comprises adding to the suspension a high molecular weight polymer.
  • the channel's depth is less than 100 ⁇ m.
  • the channel's width is less than 100 ⁇ m.
  • the channel has depth, and width, each smaller than 100 ⁇ m.
  • the particles are cells.
  • the second suspending medium comprises blood serum.
  • the focus region is at half the height of the channel.
  • the system comprising:
  • the particles comprise cells.
  • the channel has at least one cross-sectional dimension of between 5 and 100 ⁇ m.
  • said at least one cross-sectional dimension comprises a dimension of a cross-section perpendicular to a bottom of said channel.
  • the channel has a bottom and walls, and the distance between the walls is larger than 100 ⁇ m.
  • the system comprises a plurality of fluids, each with different viscoelastic properties, and instructions to use each fluid for focusing particles of different size.
  • a kit which does not form part of the present invention comprising:
  • a method of evaluating elasticity of a liquid which does not form part of the invention comprises:
  • analyzing comprises analyzing responsive to the medium's viscosity, and the method comprises obtaining the medium's viscosity.
  • obtaining the medium's viscosity comprises measuring the medium's viscosity.
  • the volume fraction of the particles in the obtained suspension is between 0.001% and 1%.
  • volume fraction of the obtained suspension is 0.1%.
  • a method of evaluating interactions between particles and binders which does not form part of the invention comprises:
  • the particles are focused such that centers of at least 90% of the particles are in a layer having a thickness of less than half the height of the channel.
  • focusing the particles comprises focusing in a method according to examples.
  • evaluating interactions between particles and binders performing the above method a plurality of times, each time with a channel of different depth.
  • An aspect of some examples concerns a device for evaluating interactions between particles and binders, the device comprising:
  • said plurality of systems have a common fluid source.
  • said plurality of systems have a common fluid directing system.
  • the device has a controller for controlling the flow rate of fluid into the channel in each of the systems independently of the others.
  • not all the channels are of the same depth.
  • each of the channels is of a different depth than all the others.
  • the device is configured to focus the particles with the same focusing quality in all the channels.
  • the present invention in some embodiments thereof, relates to flow cytometry, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to fluorescene-activated cell sorting (FACS).
  • FACS fluorescene-activated cell sorting
  • Some embodiments provide methods or devices for particle focusing using microfluidic flow.
  • Some embodiments of the invention may be practiced with channels that are generally not considered to be microfluidic.
  • the same focusing quality can be obtained at distance x/d from the inlet with channels of any given dimension, as long as the following expression maintains its value: a b 2 U ⁇ d ⁇ ⁇ n
  • a is the particle's radius
  • d is half the smallest dimension of the channel
  • U is the flow rate
  • ⁇ and n characterize the viscoelastic properties of the suspending medium.
  • focusing comprises flowing the particles in a suspending medium having such viscoelastic properties that alleviate the need to apply external fields on the particles in order to focus them.
  • the particles comprise cells, for example, blood cells, bacteria, and/or cancerous cells.
  • the particles comprise macromolecules, vesicles, microbeads covered with antibodies specific to soluble factors such as ligands, shaded receptors, antigens and antibodies. Nevertheless, the term 'particles' is not necessarily limited to these examples.
  • the particles flow inside a channel in a suspending medium, and concentrate in a certain portion of the channel, termed herein "the focus region".
  • the focus region is at the center of the channel, for example, in a volume extending perpendicularly from the channel's bottom at the center of the bottom.
  • a channel is used herein to denote any structure having at least one dimension smaller than 100 ⁇ m and a length that is much larger than 100 ⁇ m, for example 1mm, 10mm, 50mm, 100mm, 1000mm, or any intermediate or longer length.
  • a channel is a groove on an upper surface of a solid body.
  • a channel is a tube.
  • a cross-section of a channel, perpendicular to the channel's length is optionally rectangular, square, rounded, or spherical.
  • Channels of rectangular or square cross-sections are optionally obtained using lithography, for example, soft lithography or photolithography. This kind of manufacture method allows easy and accurate mass manufacture of bodies carrying microchannels, for instance, lab-on-chips.
  • the focusing quality is optionally obtained with channels of larger smallest dimension, if the channel is similarly longer and the particles are similarly larger. If the channel has a smallest dimension that is larger than 100 ⁇ m and the particles are about 1-10 ⁇ m, the focusing quality deteriorates.
  • Focusing at the center of the channel may be advantageous over focusing in other areas of the channel in several aspects. For instance, at the center of the channel the flow velocity is higher than off-center. Therefore, particles focused at the center of the channel flow faster, and may be handled in higher throughputs.
  • the treated particles are small Brownian particles, for example, smaller than 1 ⁇ m, they tend to diffuse perpendicularly to the flow direction and the transverse diffusivity is enhanced by the shear (an effect known in the art as Taylor dispersion). This tendency is minimal at the center of the channel where the shear-rate is minimal, and therefore, faster movement of the particles along the flow direction can be achieved with minimal sample width broadening due the transverse shear-augmented diffusion.
  • the particles have a tendency of adsorbing to the channel's walls, focusing the particles in the center minimizes their interactions with the wall and decreases adsorption/adhesion phenomena.
  • the focusing is horizontal, that is, the particles are focused at a horizontal region of limited depth near half the depth of the channel.
  • Horizontal focusing may be advantageous, for instance, when the particles are to be analyzed optically, with an optical device positioned above the channel. In such cases, the horizontal focusing may bring all the particles to be within the focus of the optical analyzer, allowing for faster analysis of the particles than would be allowed if the particles are focused vertically.
  • Some embodiments of the invention are practically independent of gravitation. Nevertheless, because in some embodiments particles are analyzed using a light beam, it may be convenient to interpret the terms "horizontal" and "vertical” to denote alignment with the light beam, for instance, defining that the light beam arrives along the vertical direction.
  • Horizontal focusing is optionally obtained when the vertical dimension of the channel (that is, the channel's height), is 100 ⁇ m or less.
  • the focusing is in a vertical direction, that is, the particles concentrate in a focusing region that is perpendicular to the channel's bottom, at about half the width of the channel.
  • Vertical focusing is optionally obtained when the horizontal dimension of the channel (that is, the channel's width), is about 100 ⁇ m or less.
  • a three-dimensional (3-D) focusing takes place, in the sense that the particles flow away of the bottom and top wall of the channel and also away of the walls of the channel, and concentrate in a volume that does not extend to touch any of the channel's walls.
  • Two-dimensional focusing is optionally obtained with channels that have both height and width of about 100 ⁇ m or less.
  • three dimensional focusing is obtained with a channel that is 100 ⁇ m or less in one of its dimensions, and in the other dimension focusing is obtained by other methods, which as such are not necessarily in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, for instance, sheath-flow focusing, also known as hydrodynamic focusing.
  • sheath flow focusing or other known focusing method is used in combination with viscoelastic focusing.
  • the focused particles are lined up, optionally one by one, such that the centers of a substantial portion of the particles are within a cylinder having a radius that is about the same as a typical radius of the particles. In some embodiments such focusing considerably reduces the longitudinal dispersion of particles and yields higher throughputs. The improved throughput is possibly because the particles focus at the center, where the velocity of the pressure-driven flow is expected to be maximal,
  • the substantial portion is 90% or more of the particles, optionally more than 95%, optionally more than 99%.
  • the radius of the cylinder is less than 120% of the particles' typical radius.
  • the particles typical size corresponds to the smallest dimension of the particle.
  • cylindrical particles with a base having a diameter of 1 ⁇ m and a height of 10 ⁇ m focus similarly to spherical particles of 1 ⁇ m diameter.
  • a method of focusing the particles includes flowing a suspension of the particles in a long channel, having at least one dimension smaller than 100 ⁇ m.
  • substantial focusing occurs after flowing the particles along a relatively short distance. For instance, focusing of 90% of the particles to within a cylinder having a radius larger in 20% than the particles radius can occur after flowing the particles along 10cm or less, for example, after 5cm, 2cm, or 1 cm.
  • the suspension comprises the particles and a suspending medium, and the suspending medium is selected and/or manipulated to have viscoelastic properties that result in a desired focusing and alleviates the need to apply external fields on the flowing suspension to obtain the focusing.
  • the suspending medium has the same density everywhere inside the channel.
  • no density gradient is required for focusing.
  • Manipulating the viscoelastic properties of the suspending medium optionally comprises adding to the suspending medium a modifier, which modifies the viscoelastic properties of the suspension.
  • the modifier is added in amounts that are soluble in the dispersing medium.
  • the modifier is bio-compatible. This option may be advantageous when the particles comprise biological material, such as living cells or microbeads.
  • modifiers include, but are not limited to polyacrylamide (PAA) polyethyleneglycol (PEG), polysucrose (Ficoll TM ), polyglucose (Dextran), methylcellulose, and xanthan gum.
  • PAA polyacrylamide
  • PEG polyethyleneglycol
  • FEG polysucrose
  • Dextran polyglucose
  • methylcellulose examples include, but are not limited to polyacrylamide (PAA) polyethyleneglycol (PEG), polysucrose (Ficoll TM ), polyglucose (Dextran), methylcellulose, and xanthan gum.
  • PAA polyacrylamide
  • PEG polyethyleneglycol
  • Fiber TM polysucrose
  • Dextran polyglucose
  • methylcellulose methylcellulose
  • xanthan gum xanthan gum
  • Some viscoelastic properties that might affect the focusing include: viscosity, elasticity, and, in case the suspending medium is not Newtonian, the shear thinning of the medium.
  • Viscosity is optionally measured, in Pascal-sec or Poise. Generally, higher viscosity results in less efficient focusing.
  • Elasticity is optionally defined by the 1 st normal stress difference, usually designated as N 1 .
  • N 1 is related to the storage or elasticity modulus, G' that can be measured experimentally using commercially available rheometers. Generally, higher elasticity results in more efficient focusing.
  • Shear thinning is the change in viscosity in response to change in shear rate. Generally, higher shear thinning results in more efficient focusing.
  • viscoelastic focusing Particle focusing with a suspending medium having such viscoelastic properties that alleviate the need to use external force fields to obtain the focusing is referred herein as "viscoelastic focusing".
  • the focusing is affected by the flow rate of the suspension inside the tube. Generally, higher flow rate results in more efficient focusing. In some other embodiments, however, the focusing is nearly independent of the flow rate. In the latter, the need to precisely control the flow rate is alleviated, and systems utilizing flow-rate independent focusing may be made simpler and more robust than embodiments that use flow-rate dependent focusing. For instance, flow rate can be much less accurate in flow-rate independent embodiments.
  • the conditions for obtaining flow-rate independent focusing are discussed in the context of Fig. 9A and under the heading "theoretical guiding" below.
  • Fig. 1 is a flow chart of actions taken in a method (2) of focusing particles, according an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
  • Action 4 comprises providing a suspension of the particles in a suspending medium.
  • the suspending medium has such viscoelastic properties, that when the suspension flows in a channel of suitable dimensions at least some of the particles are directed towards a focus region within the channel.
  • the focus region cross-section perpendicular to the channel's length has width that is substantially equal to the width of the channel, and length that is much smaller than the depth of the channel. In these cases the focusing is referred herein as "horizontal".
  • the focus region cross-section perpendicular to the channel's length has depth that is substantially equal to the depth of the channel, and width that is much smaller than the width of the channel. In these cases the focusing is referred herein as "vertical".
  • the focus region cross-section perpendicular to the channel's length has height that is substantially smaller than the depth of the channel, and width that is much smaller than the width of the channel. In these cases the focusing is referred herein as 3-D.
  • the channel's depth is smaller than 100 ⁇ m, with more shallow channels allowing for earlier focusing (under otherwise similar conditions). Two factors that limit the depth of the channel are the tendency of too small channels to clog, and the higher inlet pressure required in order to flow fluids in small channels.
  • the channel also has width smaller than 100 ⁇ m, in which case, a 2-D focusing is obtained, and the particles focus away of the channel's bottom and top wall and also away of the channel's vertical walls.
  • the focusing region optionally has a cross-section similar to that of the channel, but smaller.
  • a 3-D focusing region is coaxial with the channel.
  • Action 6 comprises flowing the suspension along the channel.
  • method 2 results in arranging the particles one by one, allowing their inspection in a flow cytometer.
  • the suspension comprises particles of various sizes, and the viscoelastic properties of the suspending liquid are such that flowing the suspension in the channel selectively directs particles of a given size towards the focus region. For instance, in some embodiments, discussed in relation with Figs. 5A and 5B below, 95-99% of particles of 8 ⁇ m diameter are directed to the focusing region, while only 35-40% of particles of 5 ⁇ m diameter are directed to the same focusing region.
  • the particles are dry, and are suspended in a suspending medium selected in accordance with the medium viscoelastic properties.
  • the particles are provided when suspended in a non-suitable medium.
  • a suitable suspending medium is added in excess, so as to control or eliminate the effect of the non-suitable viscoelastic properties of the provided suspending medium.
  • the suspending medium is exchanged with another suspending medium, which has suitable viscoelastic properties.
  • blood is treated, and the particles to be sorted are blood cells, provided suspended in blood serum.
  • saline is added to the blood.
  • the amount of added serum is about 15, 20, or 25 times the amount of blood.
  • the blood serum is exchanged with saline.
  • such exchange comprises centrifuging the blood sample, extracting the plasma, and suspending the extracted plasma with saline.
  • the saline used to replace the serum and/or the saline added to the serum comprises a modifier, as described above.
  • a plurality of optional suspending mediums are provided, and one of them is selected in accordance with the suspending medium viscoelastic properties and the properties of the particles that should be focused or sorted, for instance, the size of the particles.
  • the suspending medium is selected responsive to particles' size and deformability.
  • deformability is used to define an effective radius, and the suspending medium is selected responsive to the defined effective radius.
  • suspending media are provided for particles of different sizes and deformability.
  • a trial suspending medium is first used, and the particles are flown in a microchannel in the trial suspending medium along some path, and focusing quality is estimated.
  • Focusing quality is optionally defined as the percentage of the particles that focus at a focusing region of given dimensions after flowing in a channel a given distance at a given flow-rate.
  • the suspending medium is optionally amended.
  • the suspending medium is amended by adding to it a modifier, which modifies the viscoelastic properties of the suspending medium.
  • the modifier comprises a high molecular weight polymer such as polyacrylamide (PAA), which is known to enhance elasticity of liquids in which it is dissolved.
  • PAA polyacrylamide
  • the modifier comprises a high molecular weight polymer, for instance, glycerol, which is known to change the viscosity of liquids in which it is dissolved.
  • one polymer modifies both viscosity and elasticity.
  • one or more polymer is used to modify elasticity and one or more polymer is used to modify viscosity.
  • focusing quality is estimated based on the width of the thinnest layer at which the centers of 95% of the focused particles are located.
  • the focusing quality is estimated based on the fraction of the focused particles, the centers thereof lies within a layer of a given thickness.
  • focusing quality is estimated based on the length of a path that particles travel in the channel to focus to a certain degree. For example, in an embodiment, focusing is considered better if 95% of the particles concentrate at a 2 ⁇ m thick layer at 20mm from the inlet than if 95% of the particles concentrate at a 2 ⁇ m thick layer at 50mm from the inlet.
  • Fig. 2A is a schematic illustration of a system 100 for focusing flowing particles, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
  • the figure shows a channel (105) in fluid communication with a fluid source 125 through a fluid direction system 145.
  • Fluid direction system 145 is provided for directing sample fluid from fluid source 125 into channel 105 through input 127 towards inspection zone 128.
  • fluid direction system 145 comprises a syringe pump, the piston of which is pushed at a constant and controlled rate.
  • An example of a commercially available suitable fluid direction system is KDS 210 Scientific of KD Scientific Inc. (USA).
  • Fig. 2B is a schematic illustration of channel 105.
  • the figure shows channel 105 to have walls 110 and 115, bottom 120 and top wall 122.
  • Sample fluid 130 comprises particles 135, suspended in a suspending medium.
  • the suspending medium has viscoelastic properties that facilitate focusing of particles 130 in a portion 140 of channel 105, and alleviates the need to apply an external field for obtaining the focusing. Nevertheless, in some embodiments, an external field is applied as known in the art, optionally in order to strengthen the focusing, alternatively or additionally, to focus the particles along an additional direction.
  • fluid 130 is directed into channel 105 by fluid directing system 145 and particles 135 are directed to a focus region 140, enclosed in channel 105.
  • Channel 105 is a microchannel, having a height h, perpendicular to bottom 120, and width w , between walls 110 and 115. At least one of height h and width w is smaller than 100 ⁇ m, optionally between about 5 ⁇ m and about 100 ⁇ m, for example 10, 20, 50, 80, or 100 ⁇ m. Optionally, the distance w between walls 110 and 115 is also smaller than 100 ⁇ m. Optionally, one of h or w is larger than 100 ⁇ m. In one exemplary embodiment w is 1mm and h is 50 ⁇ m.
  • the system 100 also comprises a kit 200, pictorially depicted in Fig. 3 .
  • Kit 200 comprises a plurality of packages 205, which in the depicted embodiment are bottles, and each package contains a suspending medium 210, which has viscoelastic properties suitable for focusing particles of a given size.
  • Each of bottles 205 carries a label 215, indicating the size of particles to be suspended therein for focusing with system 100.
  • the label indicates different particle sizes for different flow rates.
  • the label indicates different particles sizes to systems of different dimensions.
  • kit 200 also comprises instructions, with what suspending medium should which particles be focused.
  • the indication mentions a particle size.
  • the indication mentions a certain type of cells, for instance: red blood cells, leukocytes, cancerous cells, and/or bacteria.
  • the suspending medium is selected or chosen in a trial-and-error method.
  • the viscoelastic properties of phosphate buffered saline may be modified by adding thereto PVP of 360 kg/mol (360 kDa).
  • the PVP is added to form about 2%, 5%, 8% of the dispersing medium, or any intermediate concentration.
  • the viscoelastic properties of PBS are modified by adding similar amounts of Dextran having molecular weight greater than 70 kg/mol (70 kDa). Additionally or alternatively 5-100 ppm of PAA, and/or methylcellulose are added to the saline.
  • theoretic analysis is used to guide the trial and error method. For instance, the viscoelastic properties required for focusing particles of a certain size in a given channel is calculated, and medium with similar viscoelastic properties is used as a trial suspending medium, and if necessary, modified as explained above.
  • Fig. 4A is a schematic illustration of a FACS machine 400, utilizing a system according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • Machine 400 comprises particles focusing system 100, optionally of the kind described above and shown in Figs. 2A and 2B .
  • the fluid in the fluid source comprises particles suspended in a suspending medium of suitable viscoelastic properties.
  • System 100 outputs particles from the fluid source, after the particles flow through channel 105 to an inspection zone 405 (128 in Fig. 1A ).
  • Machine 400 also comprises a light source 410, pointing a light beam on inspection zone 405, so as to illuminate particles that arrive from system 100 to the inspection zone.
  • the focusing provided by system 100 is such that the particles arrive to the inspection zone one by one.
  • Each particle interacts with light arriving from light source 410, optionally by scattering the light. Additionally or alternatively, some of the particles also emit fluorescence.
  • light source 410 illuminates the particles from above channel 105.
  • the focus zone is horizontal (i.e. parallel to bottom 120) to and at the middle of the channel's height
  • the light source is tuned to focus on the layer where the particles focus, attending to receive scattered light and/or fluorescence from particles distributed all over the width of channel 105 and concentrated at the mid-height of the channel, upper side of channel 105.
  • the scattered and/or emitted light is detected by a detector (415); and analyzed with a computer 420.
  • computer 420 controls a switch 425, that directs each particle to one of a plurality of destinations 430, responsive to the analysis results. For instance, particles of stronger fluorescent are directed to one destination, and particles of weaker fluorescence - to another.
  • FIG. 4B is a flowchart of actions taken in a method 500 of measuring rheological properties of a medium .
  • the amount of particles is such that the volume concentration of the obtained suspension (that is the fraction of the volume of the suspension which is occupied with particles) is between about 0.01% and 1%, for example, 0.1%.
  • the suspension obtained in 502 is flown through a microchannel.
  • the spatial distribution of the particles at some distance from the inlet is measured, for instance, as described below under the section headed "theoretical guiding".
  • the rheological properties of the suspending medium are extracted from the measured spatial distribution using the equations provided below under the section headed "theoretical guiding".
  • the analysis uses data on the viscosity of the medium.
  • the method comprises measuring such data.
  • method 500 allows measurement of the elasticity of the medium in accuracies in the order of ⁇ 0.01 to ⁇ 0.001 Pascal, compared to commercially available rheometers that provide accuracy of ⁇ 10 Pascal.
  • particles for examples, cells and macromolecules, exhibit tendency to adhere to surfaces. This tendency may sometimes be used for analyzing an assay of particles. For instance, in an example, the tendency of monoclonal antibodies to bind to immobilized antigens or the tendency of receptors to bind to ligands immobilized at the interior surface of channels are studied. In another exemplary embodiment, the tendency of leucocytes to bind to immobilized ligands (known in the art as in-vitro rolling assays ) is studied.
  • particles are focused in a suspending medium in a thin layer at a given height above the bottom of the channel, and the capability of the focused particles to attach to binders immobilized to the bottom is studied.
  • focusing may serve as a particularly helpful tool for fine-tuning of the effective interaction range between the freely suspended particles and the binders immobilized at the channel bottom.
  • fine-tuning may be useful in improving the spatial resolution of the assay.
  • the channel has a first portion, near the inlet, with no binder immobilized on the bottom, and a second portion, downstream of the first portion, with immobilized binders.
  • the first portion is long enough to allow a majority, for example, 95% of the particles to have their centers lie in a layer that is much thinner than the channel's height, for instance, 5% of the height.
  • the second portion is of the same height as the first portion and particles that are not attracted to the immobilized binder moves in the second portion substantially the same as it moved in the first portion.
  • the second portion is long enough to bind a majority, for instance 95% of all the particles that may bound to the binder, and only particles that do not bind exit from the second portion.
  • a plurality of channels is used, each channel with a different height, such that the interaction-distance between the binders immobilized to the bottom and the particles, focused at the a thin layer at half the height, based on the smallest channel height where particles adherence to the binders is below a first threshold and the largest channel height where particles adherence to the binders is above a second threshold.
  • the interaction distance may be defined as the midpoint between the smallest height at which less than 5% of the particles adsorb and the largest height at which at least 95% of the particles adsorb.
  • the interaction distance between the binder and the particles is evaluated based on binding at a certain distance from the beginning of the second portion.
  • all the channels have first portions of the same length.
  • the different channels have first portions designed to focus particles to the same extent in all the channels.
  • this is achieved with first portions of different lengths, with longer first portions associated with deeper channels.
  • having all the first portions with the same focusing power is achieved with tuning the flow directing systems directing fluid to the different channels to direct fluid at higher flow to deeper channels.
  • Fig. 4C is a schematic illustration of a device for studying particle-binder interaction.
  • the device 600 comprises a plurality of channels 605, each receiving sample fluid from a reservoir 610.
  • each channel 105 has its own, flow directing system 645, which is optionally controllable to direct sample fluid into the channel associated therewith in a flow rate independent from the flow rates at which fluid is directed to any of the other channels.
  • each channel 605 has a first portion 620.
  • each flow directing system is operated such that at the end of the first portion, the centers of about 90% of the particles occupy a thin layer at the middle of the channel's height.
  • second portions 325 where binders are immobilized to the bottom of the channel.
  • a camera Above each channel, at some distance after the beginning of the second portion, there is shown a camera, 630 that images the particles in the channel below the camera, to evaluate the number of particles that arrive at this point.
  • the amount of binding is evaluated based on ratio between the number of particles entering the second portion and the number of particles leaving the second portion.
  • An aspect of the invention concerns methodology for passive and tunable focusing of particles or cells in dilute suspensions in a flow-through geometry.
  • the methodology is supported by results of microfluidic experiments, which demonstrate how the intrinsic nonlinear elastic forces arising in pressure-driven flows of dilute polymer solutions can be exploited to drive particles away from walls, towards the midplane of the channel in a controllable fashion.
  • results of experiments, designed to verify the theoretical predictions, are provided and thoroughly discussed.
  • a high- speed CCD camera (CPL MS1000 Canadian Photonic Labs) was mounted on an upright microscope (Nikon 80i). Films of microspheres flowing at the center of the microchannel (at the distance w/2 from the side walls) 20 mm downstream from the inlet at various depths, were recorded directly to a PC, for further analysis by a custom designed image-processing software, as described by Barnsky et al., 2007.
  • the algorithm is capable of counting particles and calculating their velocity in a thin vertical layer of ⁇ 1 ⁇ m depth.
  • PDF particle distribution function
  • V is the velocity of lateral migration
  • a is the radius of the particle
  • d is the half-depth of the channels
  • ⁇ is the dynamic viscosity that is in general a function of the local shear rate ⁇ .
  • Equating F e and F ⁇ yields the expression for the lateral migration speed V ⁇ ⁇ a 2 6 ⁇ ⁇ N 1 ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ y
  • V C ⁇ U ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ n / n
  • ⁇ a 2 ⁇ A 6 ⁇ mnd 1 + 2 n nd ⁇ has the dimensions of [ L / T ] n - ⁇
  • ⁇ 1 + ⁇ - n
  • V ⁇ ⁇ a 2 Wi ( ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ y ) m
  • Equation (3) can be readily integrated and the implicit solution is obtained
  • F ⁇ ⁇ 0 C ⁇ U ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ 1 ⁇
  • the envelope of the core is a trajectory
  • the shear viscosity of the PVP solution measured with the ARES rheometer at 25° C and is found equal to ⁇ 0.064 Pa ⁇ s.
  • N 1 for the PVP solution was too low to be reliably measured in steady shear tests. Instead, we performed the small-amplitude oscillatory shear measurements of the dynamic rigidity ("storage modulus"), G', as a function of the oscillation frequency, ⁇ (see Fig. 6 ). Using the rheometric relationship G'/ ⁇ 2 ⁇ N 1 / 2 ⁇ 2 , that holds between G' and N 1 at low values of ⁇ and ⁇ , we can estimate the value of N 1 ⁇ 0.94 ⁇ 1.54 mPa. The analogous Cox-Merz relation holds between the shear viscosity, ⁇ ( ⁇ ) , and the absolute value of the complex viscosity
  • the expression (2) yields V / U ⁇ ⁇ U ⁇ -n V, where the strength of the focusing is controlled by ⁇ ⁇ Aa 2 / ⁇ .
  • the shear thinning i.e. n ⁇ 1
  • the ratio of depth-averaged migration velocities of shear thinning and Newtonian liquids reduces to 1 + 2 n n 1 ⁇ n s 1 ⁇ n , and for U / d > 1s -1 this expression is larger than 1 for n ⁇ 1.
  • the particle size and altering the elasticity and/or viscosity of the suspending medium one can control the width of the particle distribution at a certain distance downstream. For instance, if the N 1 exponent, ⁇ 1, the particle distribution is expected to be insensitive to the flow rate.
  • PAA high molecular weight polyacrylamide
  • the frequency dependence of the dynamic rigidity of a dilute solution of PAA is expected to be G' ⁇ 2 , and the deviation of the exponent from the anticipated value of 2, even at the lowest frequencies tested (see Fig.6 ), may be due to high polydispersity of the polymer used in the experiments.
  • V / U ⁇ U 0-15 and rather weak dependence of the PDF on the flow rate is anticipated.
  • the pre-exponential factor A is about an order of magnitude higher than that measured for the PVP solution, and, therefore, a stronger focusing effect is expected in the PAA solution.
  • Figs. 8a and 8b The resultant PDF's of the 8 and 5 ⁇ m microspheres are given in Figs. 8a and 8b , respectively. It can be readily seen that the PDF is almost independent of the flow rate as expected. The particle size effect is evident: the PDF distribution is narrower for larger particles.
  • the corresponding values of y 95 can be calculated from the PDF's in Fig. 8 and they are depicted in Fig. 7 vs the flow rate for the 5 ⁇ m particles (open diamond) and 8 ⁇ m particles (open square).
  • Fig. 9A is a flowchart of actions to be taken in a method 900 of predicting focusing quality of a given suspending medium in a given flow system.
  • the system's physical dimensions are provided. These dimensions optionally include:
  • rheological properties of the given suspending medium are estimated.
  • the estimated rheological properties optionally include: dynamic viscosity, ⁇ (Pa ⁇ s), as a function of shear rate, ⁇ ; and elastic modulus G '(Pa) as a function of the oscillatory frequency, ⁇ .
  • these estimations are based on data available in the literature.
  • these data are collected experimentally, for instance, with a commercially available rheometer.
  • this estimation is based on the measurements taken at 904, with the rheometric equality N 1 ⁇ 2G'.
  • N 1 is large enough to be directly measured by an a commercially available rheometer (typically, in the order of tens of Pa) N 1 is optionally measured directly.
  • focusing quality is estimated by solving equation 4 above using the data provided at action 902 and 903 and the estimations obtained in actions 904-908.
  • monodispersed polymers is used, in this context, to denote polymers with narrow distribution of molecular weights.
  • linear polymers that in dilute solutions provide Boger-liquid behavior include monodispersed polyacrylamide and polyethyleneglycol.
  • Fig. 9B is a flowchart of actions to be taken in a method 900 of predicting focusing quality of a given suspending medium in a given flow system according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • Actions 902 and 903 in Fig. 9b are just like the same actions in Fig. 9a .
  • the mean lateral velocity of the particles V is calculated based on the quantities calculated at 904-908 and Eq. (2a) and the input that for Boger liquids ⁇ ⁇ 0.6/6 ⁇ .
  • the streamwise distance at which particles will be fully focused to the central horizontal plane of the channel is estimated as l ⁇ ( U / V )d.

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